Chuck Amato

Chuck Amato was born Charles Michael Amato on June 26, 1946, in Easton, Pennsylvania, the son of Paul and Lucy (Amore) Amato. His older brother, Rosario "Rosie" Amato, born in 1942, was a three-sport athlete who went on to play offensive tackle at NC State, and the two brothers remained close throughout their lives.

At Easton Area High School, Amato started at linebacker and fullback, was a tri-captain of the Red Rovers in 1963, earned first-team East Penn Conference honours and Associated Press honourable mention all-state recognition at linebacker. He also won the 1964 PIAA state wrestling championship at 165 pounds. He graduated in 1964. Duke recruited him, but its coaches would not let him play football and wrestle, which was one reason he chose NC State.

Amato followed his brother to NC State to play for coach Earle Edwards. He was a three-year letter winner in football and wrestling. As a linebacker he played on the 1965 team that shared the ACC championship and captained the defense in 1967. That senior year he and his defensive teammates persuaded Edwards to let them paint their football shoes white, and the "White Shoes Defense" became part of Wolfpack lore as the team started 8-0, reached No. 3 in the national polls and beat Georgia in the Liberty Bowl for the program's first bowl victory.

In wrestling he posted two undefeated seasons and won ACC championships at heavyweight in 1966 and at 191 pounds in 1968. He earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics education in 1969 and a master's degree in education in 1973. In 2003 the NC State College of Education named him its Distinguished Alumnus.

Amato began coaching at his old high school, Easton Area, in 1969 and 1970. In 1971 he returned to NC State as a graduate assistant under Al Michaels, coached the defensive backs under Lou Holtz from 1973 to 1975 and served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Bo Rein from 1976 to 1979. He coached four All-ACC defensive backs and future Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, and was part of ACC titles in 1973 and 1979.

After two seasons as defensive coordinator at Arizona under Larry Smith (1980 to 1981), he joined Bobby Bowden's Florida State staff in 1982. He coached the defensive line from 1982 to 1995 and the linebackers from 1996 to 1999, serving as assistant head coach for his final 14 seasons. Florida State won eight straight ACC titles from 1992 to 1999 and national championships after the 1993 and 1999 seasons. Amato coached consensus All-Americans Reinard Wilson, Sam Cowart and Andre Wadsworth.

NC State athletic director Les Robinson named Amato the 32nd head coach in school history on January 6, 2000, two days after Florida State's national championship win in the Sugar Bowl. His first job was keeping signed quarterback Philip Rivers, who stayed and rewrote the school and ACC passing record books.

In 2000 the Wolfpack ended a seven-game losing streak to North Carolina and beat Minnesota in the MicronPC.com Bowl. In 2001 NC State became the first ACC team to beat Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium. The 2002 team started 9-0, went 11-3, beat Notre Dame 28-6 in the Gator Bowl and finished No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the coaches poll, still the program's winningest season. NC State also won the 2003 Tangerine Bowl over Kansas and the 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl, and the 2004 defense led the nation in total defense. He beat his mentor Bowden four times.

His teams produced 22 NFL draft picks, five in the first round, including Rivers, Mario Williams, Manny Lawson and John McCargo. After a 3-9 season in 2006, athletic director Lee Fowler announced on November 26, 2006, that Amato would not be retained. He finished 49-37 overall, 25-31 in the ACC and 4-1 in bowl games.

In January 2007 Amato rejoined Bowden at Florida State as executive associate head coach and linebackers coach, and in 2008 he returned to Carter-Finley Stadium on the opposing sideline. When Bowden retired after the 2009 season, successor Jimbo Fisher did not retain him, and he coached through the 2010 Gator Bowl, Bowden's final game.

In January 2012 Terry Bowden hired him at Akron as associate head coach and defensive coordinator. Over six seasons he developed linebackers Justin March, Jatavis Brown and Ulysees Gilbert, and the Zips won their first FBS bowl game in the 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, reached the 2017 Boca Raton Bowl and won the 2017 MAC East Division. He retired on February 26, 2018, after 45 years in college coaching.

Amato married Peggy Jean Brown, a Raleigh native, in the 1970s; by the time he became NC State's head coach in 2000 they had been married for 25 years. The couple had twin daughters, LuGina and Selena. When he retired in 2018 he said twin grandsons were living in his house and that his wife's siblings were unwell, and that family had become the priority.

A devout Catholic, during his head coaching years he attended Mass each morning in the chapel at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh. Fitness was his only hobby: he lifted weights and played handball throughout his life, which gave him the nickname "Chuck the Chest". His brother Rosie, a longtime ACC football official, died on November 28, 2025.

Amato often cited Bobby Bowden's three Fs, faith, family and football, in that order, as his guide. He described himself as relentlessly persistent and passionate and openly embraced a reputation for confidence. His former graduate assistant Manny Diaz said he was "highly intelligent but extraordinarily tough", and Philip Rivers credited his "mix of intensity and discipline, along with a swagger and passion for the game". Away from the cameras he was known for quieter kindnesses; in 2006 the StarNews reported that he visited a hospitalised friend every day.

Amato is remembered as the coach who raised NC State football's expectations. His 11-win 2002 season remains the school record, his teams played in five bowls in seven years, and the enthusiasm he generated contributed to record season-ticket sales and the renovation of Carter-Finley Stadium. His coaching tree includes Manny Diaz (Miami, Duke), Curt Cignetti (James Madison, Indiana), Doc Holliday (Marshall), Marc Trestman (Chicago Bears, CFL) and Norm Chow (Hawaii). At Florida State he was a key figure in one of the great dynasties in college football history.

As a player Amato won two ACC wrestling championships (1966, 1968) and a share of the 1965 ACC football title. As an assistant he was part of 10 ACC championships and two national championships at Florida State. In 2002 he was elected to the American Football Coaches Association Board of Trustees. In 2003 the NC State College of Education named him Distinguished Alumnus, and in 2013 he was inducted into the Phillipsburg/Easton Football Hall of Fame. He also founded the Chuck Amato Football Camp in 2002 and served as honorary co-chair of the Special Olympics North Carolina Sports Inspiring Greatness Gala in 2001.

Amato's sideline style, with red-tinted Oakley sunglasses he called lucky and red patent leather shoes he said honoured NC State basketball, made him one of the most recognisable coaches in college football in the early 2000s. After retiring he hosted The Chuck Amato Show, a weekly Wolfpack football podcast with host James Curle, recorded at Amedeo's Italian restaurant in Raleigh.

After the 9-0 start in 2002, NC State never won an ACC title or reached a major bowl under Amato. A disputed call on a T.A. McLendon run cost the Wolfpack against North Carolina in 2004, and the 2006 team lost its last seven games. Athletic director Lee Fowler dismissed him on November 26, 2006, citing results in two of the previous three seasons. Amato called the decision disappointing but said he would never do anything to hurt the university.

Amato was first diagnosed with cancer on his tonsil in December 2009 and was declared clear after chemotherapy and radiation in 2010. In his final years the throat cancer returned, and he spent several months in hospice care. His death at the age of 80 was reported on October 19, 2026, by 247Sports and The News & Observer of Raleigh. The exact date and place of death had not been made public when this page was written. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and their daughters, LuGina and Selena.